Apprenticeship schemes are not just for younger workers - adults can also learn new skills valuable to the UK economy, according to Perspective, an authority on distributed learning and apprentice training.

Paul Davis, managing director of Perspective, says: “Mature students most certainly have a role to play in addressing the current lack of skills in the UK economy. Those who have been left jobless by the recession should see apprenticeships as a real opportunity to get back into employment, learn additional, valuable skills, and perhaps take their career down a different path than the one they originally chose.

“The recent enrolment of a 73-year-old in Scotland shows that it doesn’t matter how young or old an individual is, new skills are almost certainly valued by all.”